Challenging Schedule On Tap For 2008

Jul 07, 2008

July 7, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale women's soccer coach Rudy Meredith has once again put together a challenging schedule for his team this fall. The Bulldogs will play four teams that reached the NCAA College Cup last year, including state-rival UConn in the season opener on Sept. 5 in Storrs.

The Huskies and Bulldogs will be playing for the first time since 2004, a 2-0 Yale victory. UConn ended last season ranked ninth in the nation after reaching the quarterfinals of the College Cup. Yale's second game will also feature a Big East opponent as St. John's visits Reese Stadium for the first time since 1999 on Sept. 7. The Bulldogs are 29-6-1 at home in the last four years.

After a trip to Fairfield on Sept. 9, Yale will host a tournament for the second time in the last three years. On Sept. 12, Delaware plays Sacred Heart at 5 p.m. followed by the Bulldogs hosting Western Carolina at 7:30 p.m. On Sept. 14, Sacred Heart and Western Carolina meet at 11:30 a.m. and Yale takes on Delaware at 1:30 p.m. Two days later, on Sept. 16, Sacred Heart returns to Reese Stadium, this time to play the Bulldogs.

Yale then heads to the West Coast for the Santa Clara Adidas Classic. The Bulldogs take on a Stanford team that was eliminated by UConn on penalty kicks in the third round of the College Cup last fall on Sept. 19 and then plays host Santa Clara on Sept. 21. The Broncos have reached the College Cup in each of the last 19 seasons.

The Ivy League season begins with a visit from Princeton on Sept. 27. After hosting Bryant on Oct. 1, the Bulldogs have four straight Ivy games, beginning at Harvard on Oct. 4. Yale is at Dartmouth on Oct. 11, at Cornell on Oct. 18 and then hosts defending Ivy champion Penn on Oct. 25.

The final non-conference game of the season is at home against Central Connecticut on Oct. 28. The Bulldogs then play Columbia on Nov. 1 on Senior Day at Reese Stadium before closing out the regular season at Brown on Nov. 8.

Yale returns 19 letterwinners from last year's team that finished 11-6 overall and 5-2 in Ivy play.